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installing programs in x

Hi all, Brand spankin new to X, so far made good w/ dld md9.1 and install, love the features etc...But how in the heck do I install ANYTHING on the os???? gzip, 7zip, doom for x....It seems like every tutorial I find gives a different set of commands and I am making NO progress here Is there something simple I'm missing? btw I am not a programmer. Just a reasonably well educated end user...so Thanks very much in advance for any tips anyone can help me out with....Phil

Now, to install a new application, you can either compile it from a tar ball (bit like a Windows zip file) or install it using RPM (and yes, guys, I do know that there are other ways, but I'm keeping it simple).

The tarball way (the file will end in eother tar or gz) is :-
1. untar the file
2. read the README file that you've just untarred
3. Optionally run a ./configure (you need to be in a terminal screen and in the sub-directory [folder] that you untarred into)
4. run a make (this simple command - make - again run from within a terminal window within the sub-directory that you untarred into, will run a whole bunch of compile jobs for you)
5. run a make install (see '4' above)
6. run the executable (binary file)

The rpm way is (with a file ending .rpm) :-
1. open a terminal window an become root / su
2. enter 'rpm -i filename.rpm'
3. run the binary / executable

or

1. From Gnome, open up your filemanager and double click on the rpm file in question. This will run a rpm for you.
2. Run the executable

Don't worry if this all appears odd, once you've downloaded and installed one application, it'll become clear(er).